52 Ancestors Week 2: Favorite Photo

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 2:

Week 2’s theme is “Favorite Photo.” Yes, I’ve included this prompt in the last few years of 52 Ancestors, and for good reason: Photos capture our family history like few other things can. Besides, how can you limit yourself to one?! This week, tell the story of a favorite photo: who is in it, where and when was it taken, and – just as important – why was it taken?

It's that time again!

    It just wouldn't be 52 Ancestors without a prompt in early January asking us to talk about a favorite picture of ours. For the past five years I've had plenty of photos to share and I'm not stopping any time soon. I've still got many photos worth talking about and you can see many of them over on WikiTree. Pictures have a way of adding faces to the name and stats of someone you're adding to your family tree. They're proof that the person you're adding data and sources for were in fact flesh and blood. Though, that doesn't mean the people we couldn't possibly get photos for weren't flesh and blood. It just means that we can finally add a face to the name. Vital records help in those cases.

    Photographs of our ancestors can turn up in interesting places, though. I remember talking to my cousin Adriana about several photos she had in her collection. She shared a picture of my 2nd great-grandparents, Marco Ferraiolo and Caterina Coppola with me and since they were also her grandparents it seemed reasonable that she'd have a picture of them. What was really cool was how she also had my father's high school graduation photo in her collection! I wondered how that got there seeing as she currently lives in Rome! It's no big secret. My grandfather Marco or his father likely sent her mother Rosa a copy in the 1960s.

    As you might have guessed, the family stayed in touch despite being thousands of miles away from each other. I guess Vincenzo made it a point to keep in touch because he and several other members of my family were at his niece Caterina's wedding in 1969!

The wedding of Giuseppe Casarrubea and
Caterina Aleardi

    This is a photograph I've been wanting to talk about for a long time! The story of how I got it is pretty amazing. I was checking out DNA matches on MyHeritage in early 2021 when I got a message from a woman named Caterina Aleardi. She asked me questions about the Vincenzo Ferraiolo I had in my tree. She told me that Vincenzo was her mother Concetta's brother and we started talking. She mentioned that the last time she saw Vincenzo was at her wedding in Switzerland.

   My eyes widened when I read that message because in the back of my mind I remembered my grandma Ollie and my father talking to me about a wedding she went to in Europe with Marco, Vincenzo, Marco's sister Nicolina and others. 

    I heard the story pretty much all my life. The family flew to Rome in late 1969 and ended up going to San Pietro a Maida where my great-grandfather, great-aunt and grandfather were born. I guess they went there to see the sights and visit family there. They then took a train to Switzerland where they attended Caterina's wedding. My grandmother mentioned how she wasn't really a fan of northern Italian cuisine since her family came from the southern Italian town of Gesualdo. They had a good time and it was unfortunately the last time Vincenzo was in Italy since he passed away in the February of 1970.

   Caterina then asked me if I wanted to see pictures of the wedding and of course I said "Yes!". What I didn't count on was seeing this amazing group photo! It didn't take me long to recognize several people in the photo and right away I found my grandparents!

    I recognized my grandfather from other photographs we have of him and was able to spot him on the left of the group. He had his hand on his wife who I knew right away was grandma Ollie. The hair gave her away. =) Grandma Ollie had the same hairstyle and coloring until she passed away in the early 2000s. She originally had black hair and dyed it once she started turning grey.

    Sadly, I have no clue who the lady next to my grandma is. I assume she's a relative of Caterina's or a relative of her husband, Giuseppe.

    When I got the photo, I showed it to my brother right away to see if he could spot our grandparents and of course he was able to find them really quickly. I guess we either knew what they looked like or they had a distinctive look about them that made them more memorable. Go figure.

    At least the picture was solid proof that the family did indeed go to Switzerland for the wedding! I didn't think there was any doubt. But, it's nice that there's actual proof.

    My grandparents weren't the only people I was able to recognize!

    Toward the center of the group we find my great-grandfather standing almost at attention while the photo was being taken. I have to wonder what was going on in his mind. I like to think that he was grateful for seeing Italy again and was happy to be at the wedding. He likely had no idea it'd be his last trip. So, he was very lucky in that he got to see his homeland one last time.

    The man to his left was Walter Jans, the husband of my great-aunt Nicolina. Talk about being a fish out of water. Walter was born and raised in North Dakota and here he was in Switzerland surrounded by a bunch of Italians. I'm not sure if there was a language barrier or not. But, it seemed like he was having a great time. At least that's the impression I got from him when Nicolina told me the story of the wedding years later. And yes Nicolina is the woman to his left. I recognize that beehive anywhere.

    I wonder who the girl Nicolina is holding is. I'll have to ask Caterina because again I have no clue who some of the people are. Speaking of Caterina....

    It's easy to spot the bride and the groom in the photo! I'm not sure why they aren't front and center like in many of the other wedding pictures I've seen. Maybe it was their choice? I'm not sure.

    Either way the picture was taken to commemorate Giuseppe and Caterina's wedding and I thank my cousin for sharing the picture with me. She sent me other pictures from the event and it looked like everyone was happy. Caterina told me her brothers and sisters were all there along with her mother. In fact, I think that might be Concetta right behind the happy couple! Concetta might even be the woman behind Nicolina, too!

    It's hard to say for sure. I'll have to ask Caterina if she could tell me who's who. It's easy enough to spot my grandparents, my great-aunt and my great-uncle. But, part of me wonders who everyone else is in the picture.

    From what Caterina told me, the picture was taken in the September of 1969 and at that point in time my parents were dating. I think they were invited but they had classes. That's unfortunate because I knew my father really wanted to see Italy. But, you know if I had the choice between schoolwork and going to Europe, I'd pick Europe. I think the professors would understand! I jest. They were on track to becoming medical professionals. I can't fault them for being studious. I CAN fault them for leaving their medicals journal open for a certain eight year old boy to find. *Shudders*, I probably shouldn't have looked through them.....

    I really like this photograph because not only does it show an important moment in Giuseppe and Caterina's life. It shows my grandparents and my great-grandfather having a great time just before Vincenzo took ill. It was one last party before he passed away. He got to see his family one last time and I think that was a great gift for him. You never know what life may throw at you and that's why you should live and make every moment count because you never know what will happen in the future. That's what makes wedding photos and really any photo worth cherishing because life changes in an instant.

    This is definitely one picture I'll cherish for that reason and I thank Caterina for sharing it with me. My parents may not have been there. But, at least they heard the stories and now we have concrete proof that the story did in fact happened! You can't ask for a better ending than that!

See ya next time!